War and Social Upheaval: Canadian Children--World War II (1939-45)


Figure 1.-- The photograph here was taken in 1942 at Montreal. People were invited to come and see spotlights in case of German an air attack. This picture is interesting from the point of view of fashion. We can see boys in knickers (called breetches by the Canadians) and girls in long stockings or leggings (figure 1). Also notice tghe boy wearing a beret. I'm unsure how common that was.

The Canadian mainland like America was untouched by the War. The Canadian war experience was a little different than the American experience. This was primarily because Canada went to war with Britain in 1939. War was automatic in 1914 when Britain went to war against Germany. Constitutional changes after the War gave the Dominions the right to decide. Canada and the other dominions loyally followed Britain to war with Germany in 1939. Canada like America had been adversely affected by the Depression, but with the increase in military spending even before te War began, there was a return to propsperity. The draft of men for the military meant a shortage of labor, quite a shift from the Depression years. In America many women and teenagers entered the workforce. We have no details about Canada, but assume the same took place there as well. At this time we have no detailed information about Canadian children during the War. The principal adverse impact to children was the absence of their fathers who were stationed abroad and for some the loss of teie fathers. Canadian soldiers were mostly stationed in England and them after D-Day in France and the Low Countries before entering Germany in 1945. There were plans to evacuate British children to Canada and the other Dominions, but after ships with evacuee children were torpeoded, these plans were cancelled. The photograph here was taken in 1942 at Montreal. The war in the first half of 1942 even with America finally involved was not going well for the Allies. People in Montrea; were invited to come and see spotlights in case of German an air attack. There was still fear of German air attacks. They never came, but the Luftwaffe had long range bombers on the drawing board. This picture is interesting from the point of view of fashion. We can see boys in knickers (called breetches by the Canadians) and girls in long stockings or leggings (figure 1). Also notice the boy wearing a beret. I'm unsure how common that was.







CIH -- WW II







Navigate the CIH World War II Section:
[Return to Main World War II displaced children page]
[Return to Main military style page]
[About Us]
[Biographies] [Campaigns] [Children] [Countries] [Deciding factors] [Diplomacy] [Geo-political crisis] [Economics] [Home front] [Intelligence]
[POWs] [Resistance] [Race] [Refugees] [Technology] [Totalitarian powers]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Return to Main World War II page]
[Return to Main war essay page]
[Return to CIH Home page]





Created: January 25, 2004
Last updated: January 25, 2004